Quarter-turn fastener assemblies are quite common and are used in a variety of different environments. The principal utilization and advantage of the structure is for the purpose of quick fastening and unfastening of component parts such as panels or other structural elements. The advantages obtained by the quick opening and closing feature of the quarter-turn fastener include ease of access to enclosures as well as fast assembly and disassembly.
One common difficulty with fasteners of the quarter-turn type as well as other types, particularly when they are often opened and closed and when speed of assembly is of importance is the problem of what to do with the half of the fastener and stud assembly which is not mounted in fixed position. During the unfastening operation, the removed fastener part, for example the receptacle, must be put aside to permit use of both of the operator's hands. This results in time loss in relocating the fastener half or possibly loss of the component so that when it is time to reassemble the fastener, it is difficult or impossible to find the missing part. The cost factor naturally come into consideration.
For example, one environment where this occurs is in automobile manufacture where various panels on the vehicle are interconnected by fasteners such as a quarter-turn fastener for quick opening and closing. The operator must be able to use both hands in shifting and handling the various components and it is a great inconvenience to have to hold a fastener part while placing the panels or other elements of structure in the desired position for fastening. When a fastener part such as a receptacle is set aside, the natural difficulty of locating the fastener half for completing the fastening operation occurs including the danger of misplacing the fastener and of holding the panel or elements of structure in the desired position so that the fastener elements are aligned for the fastening operation. This difficulty in handling and utilizing the fastener results in undesirable time loss and increased cost.
Accordingly, there is a need for a receptacle retainer in a receptacle and stud type fastener arrangement for holding the receptacle in the proximate position on one member to be fastener so that it can be easily coupled with the other fastener element in a quick and efficient manner. Naturally the retainer itself should be inexpensive, simple in construction and easy to install.